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8 Year old Trained Gun Dog - Scared in the pigeon hide?


scotja86
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Hi There,

 

I have recently been borrowing my father in laws trained gun dog who is an 8 year old Black Lab. They brought him as a pup and sent him off to gun dog school and didnt get him back until he was 2 years old. He is absaloutley fantastic on the pheseant shoots and picks up everything - sometimes he even shows off and retrieves 2 birds at once.

 

Recently i have taken him out on 2 outings with me on the pigeons. He acts really oddly when he is sat behind me in the hide. His tail goes between his legs, he starts shaking and generally looks nervous around the gun. On the last outing, as soon as i did hit a pigeon and sent him off to retrieve it, he did so, but was very wary about bringing it back to me in the hide. Almost nervous again.

 

Realising he wasnt very happy in there i packed up and decided to have a drive round my perm and let him out. He scared out some pigeons from a tree that i hit both of and he picked up from the middle of a cut rape field. Tail wagging, bouncing around - like his normal self!

 

So has anyone ever come across this sort of behaviour with a dog that is fantastic in the field but nervous in the pigeon hide?

 

Any tips to make him feel a bit more confident would be greatley appreciated.

 

Cheers,

 

S

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He was still a bit aggetated sitting in there before i fired a shot. I think he sees the gun come out and expects to be wiating for driven pheasents to come over me and to be shot and then him let loose to collect them at the end of the drive. Thats how he has been trained and that's all he knows. No, i wasnt wearing a veil or a camo net on my face or anything like that.

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Have you tried sitting the dog outside the hide while you're shooting?

 

Perhaps he's wary of the confines of the hide, or maybe the heightened noise levels inside it (or a combination of both). I'd be very careful not to do anything that could exacerbate the problem further as it could be difficult to undo.

 

Maybe desensitisation is needed through positive reinforcement? You could try setting up a hide in your garden at home and feeding the dog inside it, so that it equates being there as a reward. If this works ask a friend to fire a starting pistol - secreted inside a gamebag to muffle the noise - at some distance from the hide, rewarding the dog each time a shot's fired. Over a matter of time the gun can gradually be moved closer. Try not to rush things - if it's a bit of gun nervousness patience may be needed.

 

Good luck!

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Have you tried sitting the dog outside the hide while you're shooting?

 

Perhaps he's wary of the confines of the hide, or maybe the heightened noise levels inside it (or a combination of both). I'd be very careful not to do anything that could exacerbate the problem further as it could be difficult to undo.

 

Maybe desensitisation is needed through positive reinforcement? You could try setting up a hide in your garden at home and feeding the dog inside it, so that it equates being there as a reward. If this works ask a friend to fire a starting pistol - secreted inside a gamebag to muffle the noise - at some distance from the hide, rewarding the dog each time a shot's fired. Over a matter of time the gun can gradually be moved closer. Try not to rush things - if it's a bit of gun nervousness patience may be needed.

 

Good luck!

Yep , if he is well trained and will not run in then put him a few yards away from the hide , much better for his ears then too.

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If it's not just plain fear of the confines of a hide it's the extra bang? Hay bail hides per chance? These will hold the sound in more. Many a good dog gets spoiled when someone shoots a rifle from inside a car without thinking about how the sound wave works

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